Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Of Methods and Post-Methods - A View of From Argentina
Of Methods and Post-Methods - A View of From Argentina
l. Introduction
To talk about a post-method era is to acknowledge that at sorne point in our personal or
collective career as teachers we were trained for a method or methods which we then
implemented in our practices. To talk about methods, policies, and education includes politics
and ideologies regardless of whether we are in more or less affluent contexts (see Khong &
Saito, 2014). Pedagogies are a1so part of the politics of society as they help construct,
decomtruct and maintain power relationships. Pedagogies are also part of our social fabric
and
Paulo Freire believed that pedagogy had to be liberatory in the quest for challenging the
status quo of dominant classes and social practices. In a review of Freire's conception of
education, Beckett (2013) remarks that Freire's pedagogy for liberation is based on dialogue
between teachers and leamers and what they can do together as co-investigators of the social
Similarly, Peter McLaren (1995) asserts that methods and monolithic pedagogies are
features of colonialism (still alive and kicking through mean.s more or less sophisticated) and
that
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critical pedagogies belong to a post-colonial period. With reference to post-colonial
Critical pedagogy, on the other hand, brings into the arena of schooling practices
insurgent, resistant, and insurrectional modes of interpretation which set out to
imperil the familiar, to contest the legitimating norms of mainstream social life and
to render problematic the common discursive frames and regimes within which
"proper'' behavior, comportment, and social interactions are premised. Critical
pedagogy attempts to analyze and unsettle extant power configurations, to
defamiliarize and make remarkable what is often passed off as the ordinary, the
mundane, the routine, the banal. In other words, critica] pedagogy ambiguates
the complacency of teaching under the sign of modernity, that is, under a sign in
which knowledge is approached as ahistorical and neutral and separated from
value and power.
Under this view, a post-method pedagogy is envisioned as resistance for the inclusion of
voices, for the incorporation of dialogue, and for the recognition of the forces which
According to Douglas Brown (2002, p. 9), "a method is a set of theoretically unified classroom
bis view, methods are prescriptive, overgeneralised and developed a priori in terms of place
of implementation and actors involved in it. He adds that a method is quite distinct at the
beginning of a course but it becomes less clear as such a course progresses. As a reaction
to this notion of method, the author propases a principled approach in which teachers'
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From a distínctively critica! pedagogy lens, Kumaravadivelu (2003) defines methods as
postcolonial construct which is bottom-up and comes to place context, teachers, and the
teaching:
This term is sometimes used to refer to teaching which is not based on the prescriptions
and procedures of a particular method nor which follows a pre detennined syllabus but
which draws on the teacher's individual conceptualizations of language, language leaming
and teaching, the practica} knowledge and skills teachers develop from trainíng and
experience, the teacher's knowledge of the leamers' needs, interests and leaming styles,
as well as the teacher's understandíng of the teaching context (Kumaravadivelu, 1994).
The teacher's 'method' is constructed from these sources rather than being an application
of an externa! set of principies and practices. The kinds of content and activities that the
teacher employs in the classroom as well as the outcomes he or she seeks to achieve will
depend upan the nature of the core principies that serve as the basis for the teacher's
thinking and decision-making.
As seen in the quote above, il is impossible to talk about postmethods without referring to
I use the term pedagogy in a broad sense to include not only issues pertaining to
classroom strategies, instructional materials, curricular objectives, and evaluation
rneasures, but also a wide range of historical, política!, and sociocultural experiences that
directly or indirectly influence L2 education. (2001, p. 538)
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Post-method pedagogies are to be shaped by three context-driven parameters: particularity,
Such a definition of particularity lends itself to the need for developing local and
localised pedagogies which respond to both teachers and learners in their context. Under
this view and probably following a Freiran stance, Kumaravadivelu treats teachers and
learners asco explorers who establish a relationship based on dialogue. A notable example
of this dialogue can be recently found in Rocha Pessoa and Urzeda Freitas (2012) . These
authors report the development of critica! language practices at a language centre in Brazil.
The aim of their experience was to develop language and critica} thinking skills through the
among teachers and their totalising contexts. To this effect, we can encourage the use of a
narrative approach among teachers to explore context. Barkhuizen (2008) suggests that
narrative inquiry is a way to help teachers understand their context so that their practices
are sensitive to their contexts. The author moves on to assert that when teachers talk about
their practices over a period of time, they may start understanding their context at a deeper
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The parameter of particularity can be realised through the development of materials.
For example, a group of teacher-researchers (Barboza, Bognano & Cad, 2011) shared
at FAAPI 2011 their experience with developing EFL materials for state-run primary
schools in Córdoba. Their aim was to produce rnaterials which responded to their
local currículum and, above all, their context. Another account is advanced in Barboni
materials.
policies. In this respect, concerns in Latín America are more evident in the recent
literature. In Colombia, Valencia (2013) calls far language policies which are
bottom-up and context responsive. Similarly, in Mexico, Reyes Quezada (2013) hopes
that EFL teachers develop methods which are directly responsive to their students'
needs.
lends itself to autonomy, reflective teaching, and action research far the development
These three parameters are an invitation to look at our own contexts but they demand
new roles far Jearners, teachers, and teacher educators at teacher education
programmes. These three actors need to be autonomous beings who develop critica)
thinking skills and engage in social and liberatory autonomy. Teachers and teacher
educators also have the role of becoming reflective practitioners engaged in teacher
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practices which recognise different voices and theories and work towards
provocative plenary talk at FAAPI 2009. The point of departure was their assumption
that teachers are usually viewed as implementers and technicians whose job is to
put into practice what foreign specialists advocate. We may agree that there are
settings where adhering to the Jatest trends is a must. However, is it fair to say that
EFL teachers are not mere technicians who replicate prescribed curricula ar who
enact imposed policies, but autonomous professionals who exercise personal and
political agency with varying degrees of awareness.
120) suggests that "theory may inform teachers' decisions, but ( ... ) teachers will still
Paz and Quinterno (2009) wish to promote critica! praxis from and far our Argentinian
context as a way to resist imposed foreign policies and international gurus. We also
have our own experts and experts going to places they have very little knowledge of.
While we must agree that praxis, in Freiran terrns. needs to be the Southern Cross of
policies are not only foreign but made in Argentina. In this sense, there are agendas
offkia l currículum and an enacted currículum provided the latter is based on informcd
decl.,ions arid inquiry. I would like to see curricula and approaches which are
I would like to close this section by drawing on Waters (2012). According to this author,
EL T methods and trends are very easy to detect in the professional discourse through
publications and conference. The same cannot be said from classrooms and the extent
The author makes the distinction between theoretical developments and practice. In his
theoretical level but they have been with teachers for a long time in various ways.
Conversely, sorne tradltional methods are still found in practice together with
For the purposes of comparing what ELT experts advocate in theory and what practice
shows through coursebooks, Waters compares Headway lntermedlate from the 1996
and 2009 editions. While sorne aspects did change at a mínimum leve), both edltions
still feature artificial dialogues, contrived tasks and situations, and practice activities
which simply promote form over meaning. In the section which follows I wish to refer to
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4. Coursebooks
Coursebooks are artefacts which are ideology-carriers. They are also a reminder that the
EL T world is business and that coursebooks are commodities. Publishers, above all,
want to sell books at any cost. Furthermore, many teachers want to use one coursebook
that will save their lives. In this landscape, Gray (2013) calls for critica! and
interdisciplinary materials analysis which helps teachers and teacher educators see what
Coursebook analysis may show that Water's (2012) division between ELT developments
in theory and in practice is correct since these do not run in parallel. For example,
Banegas (2014) highlights the differences between CLIL (Content and Language
Integrated Leaming) in theory and how it has been deceptively included in global
publicising innovation.
While coursebook analysis is usually the focus of severa! publications every year, studies
on teachers' uses ofthem are scanty (but see Part 2 in Harwood, 2013). In my experience
are looking at a dead tool. It is a teacher who will bring it to life in ways we cannot fully
anticípate.
Forman (2014) goes beyond coursebook analysis and investigates how three Thai
teachers at their local university treat the global coursebook in use. According to content
cosmopolitan and affluent lifestyle. One of the participating teachers acknowledges that
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I know what I SHOULD do for students, but I don't have TIME to create thc activities or the
environmenl that will make rny students learn the languagf! more. (p. 79)
Forman calls for teachers to intervene the coursebook instead of endorsJng ll blindly. The
author believes that coursebooks need to feature both global and local contents, and that
teachers may be the agents of change if they start co-developing their own materials.
However, Forman knows that local teachers' developmenl of materia Is is limited by large
class sizes, teaching and marking loads, and low pay. These factors are obstacles in the
road to informed and prlncipled
Maybe this is a narcissistic and less academic way of closing this contribution, but I want to
make sure that I do not just twit (Oh, I don't have Twitter, oh wdl, too bad) or facebook a
revolution. These are my professional aims and by retirement {a long way to go) I wish I can
I aim at moving away from best practice to good practice. The former is Fordian, carries
undertones of imitation regardless of context, and seems computational (the input goes in
here, and here's the output). The latter is reflective, grounded on praxis and context and
based on what is possible and practica! in our classrooms. In 2013, Silvia Rettaroli organised
a presentation on good practice stories at the FAAPI Conference in Buenos Aires and the
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teacher education. I would like to see different approaches being enacted in our
profesorados. Lecturing on them is not enough. And what happens once graduates
mere implementers? How can we help teachers become co-authors of their own
initiatives? How can we encourage them to give talks either face-to-face or through
webinars?
I aim at developing methods and approaches with teachers and learners. I am not
convinced by the idea of a method because nothing is pure. In relation to this aim, I
curricula across Argentina. I would like to work with colleagues who wish to
whose sole aim seems to be sharing coursebooks in pdf format. Sorne may say that
they are expensive and difficult to purchase in today's Argentina. But, if teachers
make a profit or benefit from the work of others in the publishing industry, why would
they refuse to pay? If they do not want to pay, then they should not use that
coursebook and develop their own resources. The only way we can move from the
global to the local and from methods to postmethods is if we become involved in the
process.
I aim at spreading the works of Argentinian colleagues. Our country has notable
educators who are in a position to write ELT methodology coursebooks. How many
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year? To whal exlent do we socialise our local publications? How many of us cite Argentinian
authors together with international authors? Readers should nolice that I aim al collaboralion,
both national and international. I do not say instead ofbut together with. We do not need lo
close our doors. We need to add our own voices and let everybody listen to what we do.
Finally, I aim al creating spaces far the dissernination of our practices and research. In
this regard I feel blessed with the birth of AlA1 (Argentinian Journal of Applied Linguistics).
Writing for an acadernic journal helps us think and share our professional trajectories in a
sustainable formal. AJAL is an open-access online journal and therefore anyone can read its
contents. It is not only far academics or trainers but also far teachers engaged in sharing their
classroom accounts and projects (far example see De Cunto & García, 2014 ; Quiroga,
2014). In order to keep AJAL alive, we need more contributions and contributors ready for
6. Envoi
responsive approaches which meet the demands and motivations of our learners and
colleagues, guess who's got to do something? Youl Ali of us. Together. We have been
working towards this for years. Perhaps we only need to make our efforts more visible.
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